Empathy, an intangible yet vital attribute, holds unparalleled importance in the corporate realm, especially within the digital revolution era. The ascent of data-driven decisions and technological prowess has remarkably shaped business landscapes. However, amidst this digital progress, the essence of leading with empathy has emerged as a potent force in achieving organisational triumph, as Air Doctor explains.

Ewuranna Smith-Quayson

Empathy simply means the ability to sense and relate to other peoples’ emotions. Psychologists consider it a critical skill for establishing personal connections and understanding experiences beyond our own.

Product designers need empathy to build digital tools that make users feel empowered rather than incompetent or lost. Just adding easier interfaces and more transitions misses deeper issues users face.

by McGill University

“Empathy is the ability to understand the situation of another person and is vital for prosocial behaviors. However, we know that empathy isn’t just one thing—we can experience it very differently, either as personal distress or compassionate concern for that other person,” explains McGill psychology professor Signy Sheldon, and the study’s co-author.

Until now, research in empathy has largely focused on how imagining helping another person can promote compassion, but not on how imagining another person’s situation affects empathy, which is usually our first mental course of action.

by Eric W. Dolan

New research published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience provides evidence that higher empathy and neurobiological similarity both play a role in successful communication. However, people tend to rate the quality of their interactions higher when they perceive a sense of similarity with their communication partner, regardless of their actual neural similarities.

Human beings are inherently social creatures. From casual conversations with strangers to deep bonds with close friends and family, our lives are filled with interactions. But what makes some of these interactions more successful and enjoyable than others?

Topics We Cover in This Episode:

- How to get better at empathy in your relationships
- The power of genuine curiosity and thoughtful action when talking to others
- Tips for applying empathy in your life and business
- Ways to accelerate trust in your relationships
- The Depersonalization Model for breakdowns in communication
- Michael’s new book about prioritizing your purpose
- How to get started thinking about your purpose
- What you need in order to be productive in your life
- The power of saying no to the wrong things so you can say yes to the right things
- The key to finding your potential

The ego-empathy balance requires paying attention to another’s desires without wholly sacrificing one’s own. Ego is what gives the salesperson the desire to achieve the sale. Empathy is the other story. Empathy gives one the ability to accurately sense the reactions of other people thus producing the connecting means to make the transaction happen amicably. It is the correct portions of ego and empathy that fosters successful selling. 

Let us begin with ego. Ego is that part of us which craves attention, praise, and success. Ego is what promotes our need for self-esteem and confidence. Great salespeople want to make the sale in an intensely personal way. They do not make the sale just because of the money they will earn; they do it because they get a sense of pride and triumph. This ego drive allows salespeople to have enough confidence to build strong relationships while garnering respect and credibility. Successful salespeople must have enough ego to be motivated by failures and rejections yet not be shattered by them.

by Anita Nowak

One day, after being told that empathy could not be taught, Lynne made it her mission to find evidence to the contrary. The culmination of extensive research is her book, The Empathy Advantage: Coaching Children to Be Kind, Respectful, and Successful.

In it, she paints a vivid picture of empowered children who, armed with empathy, can navigate the complexities of the world, and become a generation that cares deeply about others beyond their immediate circles.

Dr. Nicole Price

For nearly four decades, I championed logic and reason while dismissing empathy and compassion. My mother’s passing was a pivotal moment that allowed me to perceive empathy through her perspective. It was the start of my journey to intentionally integrate empathy into my life.

In my book, Spark the Heart: Engineering Empathy in Your Organization, I delve into this personal transformation. Today, I want to share how crucial empathy is in the workplace, particularly in relation to accountability.

Dear Friends 
We continue to build the movement at The Empathy Center in Santa Barbara. Again, I invite you to join us online and in person.  See the drone video from last weeks amazing Empathy Circle Facilitator Training.  

Building on Fred Roger's comment above, I often say that the Empathy Circle practice is microdosing love.  The foundational practice for the Empathy Movement is the Empathy Circle. The circle is based on mutual deep listening and has MANY benefits.  

Do join us in the upcoming events below.

Warmly,
Edwin Rutsch 

Director: The Empathy Center
https://www.theempathycenter.org/

Katharine Manning

An empathetic workplace is one that accepts that humans work here, and does its best to create an environment where they can thrive. Even on bad days, even during upheaval, even when the world is on fire.

The world has been on fire quite a lot lately.

If we expect people to act like output production machines that are unaffected by the fires around them, we will fail. But if we endeavor to recognize what is actually happening with our workforce, and to give them support when they need it, well. That’s how you build an army. That’s how you create the kind of resilience, trust, and respect that will keep that army cohesive and striving. Even when it’s hard. Even through the mud and fire and chaos.

When asked what traits constitute a good leader, you may be tempted to list traditional qualities such as rationality, cool-headedness, and overall, an ability to detach oneself from one’s emotions. However, research has shown that the ability to feel empathy toward one’s colleagues is in fact the most critical leadership skills, and much-overlooked. Empathy is on record for boosting employees’ ability to innovate, engage with the task at hand, balance work and life demands, and not least, motivate them to stay within the company.

So, what stands in the way of more of the good stuff spreading across companies’ higher echelons?

The Power of Imagination in Empathy
A new study led by McGill researchers reveals how different forms of empathy affect our willingness to help others. It shows that vividly imagining someone else’s problems can make us feel their pain more and motivates us to lend a helping hand.

by Nihal Advani
What Could You Learn By Developing Consumer Empathy?

These companies use empathy to design products that better meet their audience’s needs. They innovate to fill gaps in the market faster and better than their competitors. They fine-tune their packaging to catch and hold shoppers’ attention. They test and tweak their advertising and product creative until it resonates with shoppers. They plan their budgets and design their operations around a deep understanding of what their audience needs and wants.

Whether they’re labeled as “consumer empathy,” “consumer closeness” or simply “consumer insights” programs, these initiatives all share the same goal: to better understand the needs and motivations that drive consumer behavior.

Empathy and understanding form the cornerstone of meaningful human interactions, fostering connections that transcend boundaries and bridge differences.

In a world often marked by diversity and individual experiences, these qualities play a pivotal role in creating a more compassionate and harmonious society.

Victor Lipman

A new study emphasizes that managerial empathy needs to be authentic.

I've long been a believer in the importance of empathy in management. At its core, management is about relationships, and empathy, of course, is a key element of positive relationships.

This is why I was interested in recent research from Ernst & Young analyzing the benefits and drawbacks of empathy as a management tool.

A study of 1,000 employed US workers discussed numerous positive aspects of empathy in the workplace. For example:

Instead of adopting a hyper-simplified approach, we must take a counter-intuitive approach and assume there can be multiple realities that are true. This is how empathy works in a real-life setting. By taking a counter-intuitive approach to a topic, and recognizing that we can hold multiple points of truth, we can empathize with another person who is affected by the topic regardless of which side of the topic they are on. And if we all took this approach, there would not be sides to begin with.

The first indications of a lack of empathy in leadership may lie in the problems the leader is regularly faced with. If one or more of the following issues seems familiar, a solution may be found in a more empathic approach:

1. Miscommunications

It may seem obvious, but miscommunicating information will not often lead to the desired response. Before delivery, a leader needs to consider how communication will be received and understood. An empathic leader will tailor messages appropriately to maintain clarity and avoid the receiver "getting the wrong end of the stick."

Peter Sear 

Avoiding the trap that sends us down the wrong path.

During my research and work on empathy with individuals, teams, and organisations, I witness a common mistake. When I point out this error a eureka expression appears on the face in front of me. It suddenly seems obvious, yet the trap is easy to fall into, and the danger of doing so is perhaps exacerbated by our haste to understand another human being’s situation.

Empathy has so much to offer us in our personal and professional endeavours. It empowers us with insight, allowing us to make better-informed decisions. All the more important, then, that we empathise as wisely and accurately as possible.

Jeremy Howick

Avoiding fatal patient safety failures requires “a more empathetic and collaborative approach from doctors”, the UK’s parliamentary and health service ombudsman, Rob Behrens, recently argued in The Times....

Evidence supports the idea that more empathy in hospitals and clinics – commonly taken to involve understanding and taking action – would reduce many persistent problems with patient care. As well as reducing patient complaints and medical errors, clinical trials have shown that if a healthcare professional shows empathy it can reduce pain (both chronic and acute) and post-operative morphine use, and improve immunity in post-operative patients.

In the book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey explains that empathy is key to effectiveness. He encourages the reader: “seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Wouldn’t it be great if as Christians we were known by our empathy?

We have received the best example of empathy in the person of Jesus. He became a man and can intimately empathise with us because he knows what it is like to experience pain and weakness. He offers us comfort so that we may comfort others.

“God is our… source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort He has given us.” — 2 Corinthians 1:3–4

Being empathetic with others can promote trust and lead to more open and honest relationships.

The Role of Empathy in Activism Ft. Dorcas Cheng-Tozun Purposeful Empathy Hosted by Anita Nowak

We are building momentum for the Empathy Book Authors. 30+ Empathy Book Authors Share the Motivation and Outline of Their Books.

Many authors will offer free books to Summit attendees!

Register now, Join and share the event.
https://lnkd.in/g4WAsNYY
Edwin Rutsch  - TheEmpathyCenter.org 
Anita Nowak, PhD- Purposeful Empathy: Tapping Our Hidden Superpower for Personal, Organizational, and Social Change
Minter Dial - Heartificial Empathy
Maria Ross - The Empathy Edge: Harnessing the Value of Compassion as an Engine for Success 
Lou Agosta - A Rumor of Empathy: Resistance, Narrative and Recovery in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy
Indi Young - Practical Empathy: For Collaboration and Creativity in Your Work